During the training, Soldiers in four-man squads conducted an eight-mile ruck march, tested their skills in clearing, disassembling and reassembling the M4 carbine assault rifle and M249 machine gun, performed proper vehicle maintenance and treated and evacuated casualties.

Spc. Jeffrey Fuggit of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4-1 BSTB, said the training was a great opportunity for soldiers to familiarize themselves with their equipment, vehicles and weapons.

“It's great for all of us to get our hands on this stuff and to be able to improve and maintain our soldier skills,” he said.

During the final event, Soldiers responded to a scenario in a simulated urban training environment in which a local sheik alerted U.S. forces of possible explosives in a nearby house. The soldiers had to investigate the report by talking to the sheik and then proceed to clear and search the house.

Spc. Gilbert Macias of Alpha Company, 4-1 BSTB, said the training was tough, but he enjoyed it.

“It was challenging, but it was also great motivation to get in better shape and improve myself,” he said. “Overall, it was a really good training experience.”

The training event was organized and coordinated by Capt. Trevor Dursky of HHC, 4-1 BSTB.

Dursky said the event was successful and called the training a “gut check” for soldiers.

“We’re happy with the turnout,” he said. “This was a great event and a good tool for commanders to be able to assess and evaluate where their squads are with their basic Soldier skills.”

Even though it seems like a short time since the Dragon brigade returned from a deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in August 2010, Wolverine battalion Soldiers are already preparing themselves for future missions, which according to Dursky was the point of the exercise.

“It really sets a foundation from which we can build further training on and that’s the real value that we got from this,” he said.